In a case that went to the Supreme Court in an effort to knock out federal protection for so-called “isolated” wetlands is finally settled. After 14 years, Michigan developer John Rapanos will pay a $150,000 penalty and spend and estimated $750,000 to make up for the 54 acres of wetlands he filled to build homes and a shopping center.
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Who says Detroit can’t make a worthwhile car? The new Ford Fusion hybrid got 52 mpg in mixed highway and city driving in one test. Detroit, of course, spent loads of federal cash developing ultra-economical cars in the 1990s. Finally it looks like it’s starting to pay off.
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A Seattle dry-cleaning firm is using a new eco-friendly method that employs carbon dioxide rather than the conventional percloroethylene, a powerful and cancer-promoting solvent. Blue Sky cleaners recently bought out a chain that was using perc.
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As President-elect Obama moved through his early choices for his new Cabinet, we heard some grumbling around Seattle because he failed to tap any Northwesterners and, said some political progressives, his picks could be described in a song called “Same As the Old (Democratic) Boss.” But his latest choices, on energy and climate change, foretell policies that will be quite different from the Current Occupant’s.
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In Dateline Earth’s never-ending quest for one hundred 1 percent solutions to global warming, we focus today on the idea of burning roadkill for energy. Yep, they’re actually doing it – or at least, Michigan has passed a law allowing it.
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